The Two-Way

11:18 am

Tue August 13, 2013

Canada Revokes License Of Company In Quebec Rail Disaster

The railway company whose train derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, last month can no longer operate in Canada. An image shows the scene one week after the disaster.

Ian WillmsGetty Images

The railway whose crude oil-carrying train derailed and exploded in the center of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, last month can no longer operate in Canada, the country's Transportation Agency says. The disaster resulted in more than 40 deaths and the destruction of many of the town's central buildings.

"The order, issued today, comes after the agency reviewed the company and found Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway doesn't have enough third-party liability insurance," the CBC reports.

The Canadian transportation agency found that MM&A lacks the ability to cover the costs of any incidents that may occur in the future. And as The Globe and Mail reports, the company is likely to struggle to pay for the recent disaster; it was recently granted bankruptcy protections.

"In court documents filed for creditor protection, the railroad demonstrated that its insurance policy covered MM&A for third-party liabilities of up to $25-million," the newspaper says. "The minimum environmental cleanup cost in Lac-Mégantic has been estimated at $200-million."

The list of the Lac-Mégantic disaster's victims grew in the days and weeks after the July 6 calamity, standing at 47 fatalities — including five people who remain missing — when officials called off the search for victims earlier this month.

At the time, officials had "identified 38 of the bodies and will work to identify the rest," The Globe and Mail reported.

The disaster occurred after an unmanned train rolled down a hill and derailed in the town, setting off explosions in its dozens of tanks that were carrying crude oil.